Fortis Academy is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

and

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

located in the

Great Barr Great Barr is now a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of Birmingham, England. The area was historically in Staffordshire, and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as Perry Barr, which is still the name of an adjacent Birmi ...

area of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

The school was officially opened by D. Rogers on 24 September 1957 as Great Barr Comprehensive School. The school had opened in September 1955 with thirteen forms of 11-year-old boys and girls and 615 pupils between the ages of 12 and 15, who were transferred from the ''Aldridge Road Boys and Girls Modern Schools'' which ceased to exist at that time. Oswald Beynon was the first headmaster. The modern schools building had been incorporated into the comprehensive school and became the Lower School, with new buildings comprising the Middle and Upper Schools. The Lower school comprises the English and maths departments, with some science and technology rooms. The middle school is mainly made up of Technology rooms and the school's main library. The Upper School is primarily science, art, religious education, physical education and modern foreign languages. In 2005, the school was designated as a specialist Science and Mathematics College. The school also gained a new specialist science building. On 24 November 2005 the school's new music block was opened by then-headteacher, Brian Sherratt OBE. The date also marked the formal retirement of Sherratt after 21 years at the school. Previously a

foundation school In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools. Foundation schools were set up under the School Standards and Framework A ...

administered by

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom (e ...

, in December 2016 Great Barr School converted to academy status and is now sponsored by the

Shaw Education Trust Shaw Trust is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which supports people with complex needs into good work. It was founded in the village of Shaw in Wiltshire in 1982. Shaw Trust surpluses are reinvested through its charitable S ...

. The school was later renamed Fortis Academy.

Artwork

The school's frontage features two carved

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

s, the left one showing three boys playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

; the right one three girls playing

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

. Originally bare stone, these were painted circa 2013.

Sixth Form Centre

Adjacent to the main school is the Sixth Form Centre. The sixth form centre acts as a college and form of higher education after leaving the last year, year 11. It provides its students with a two-year course, first contains AS level study and the second year contains A2 level. Most students choose to enter the Sixth form after their last year, as it provides many different courses including Media Studies, Business Studies, Further I.T, Higher Musical Courses, Higher Science, Law, Psychology and many others. The main focus of the Sixth Form Centre is the library called the O.L.C (Open Learning Centre), the centre also contains many class rooms and space for students to study. The centre also contains a specialist Law Room that is made to look like a 'mock-up' court. Recently, the sixth form centre has begun to offer post-16 vocational courses to pupils who wish to follow a vocational route to further education or training. As of 2011, these courses have included a Level 3 BTEC's in Forensic Science and Applied Biology and courses in iMedia and Sports Science.

Notable former pupils

Great Barr Comprehensive

* Steve Adey, musician and singer-songwriter *

Ryan Cartwright Ryan Cartwright (born 14 March 1981) is an English actor. Early life Cartwright was born on 14 March 1981 in Erdington, Birmingham, West Midlands. He has an older brother, Che Cartwright, who is also an actor. Career He began acting with th ...

, actor *

Daniel Ezra Daniel Ezra (born 15 December 1991) is a British actor best known for his role as Spencer James on '' All American''. He is Early life Ezra was born in Birmingham, England. Both his paternal and maternal grandparents were from Jamaica. Growin ...

, actor *

Steven Linnecor Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

, actor *

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV (TV network), ITV crime-action television drama series ''The Professionals (TV series), The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable ...

, actor *

Muff Winwood Mervyn "Muff" Winwood (born 15 June 1943, Erdington, Birmingham, England) is a British songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood pla ...

, musician and record producer *

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

, vocalist and keyboardist

Aldridge Road Modern Schools

Jeff Rooker, Baron Rooker Jeffrey William Rooker, Baron Rooker (born 5 June 1941) is a British politician and life peer who served as a government minister from 1997 to 2008. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Perry Barr fro ...

, politician *

Dave Swarbrick David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was ...

, folk musician and singer-songwriter

References

* E L Russell, Great Barr Comprehensive School Official Opening, City of Birmingham Education Committee, Birmingham 1957

External links

* {{authority control Academies in Birmingham, West Midlands Secondary schools in Birmingham, West Midlands Great Barr Shaw Education Trust 1957 establishments in England